Bottas takes Austin pole as title-chasing Hamilton suffers worst US qualifying result

Lewis Hamilton's hopes of clinching his sixth drivers' world championship with a stylish American triumph were rocked when his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas grabbed a surprise pole position at the United States Grand Prix.

Bottas, the only man who can delay Hamilton's celebrations, kept alive his own faint and unlikely statistical hopes, by producing a stunning lap that broke Hamilton's qualifying record at the Circuit of the Americas set last year.

"I'm really happy about that -- it was a nice lap," said Bottas on Saturday.

"To get those kind of laps on a track like this is a good feeling.

"On my last lap, I was losing grip overall so I am glad nobody improved in the end on the second runs."
"It was just me, not the car, but I can still do it tomorrow. It was my fault and I will do all I can to rectify it tomorrow. Honestly, I am not thinking about it now - I'm just trying to digest what's happened and to reflect on it."